People in the south are trendsetters

I know that the south has this reputation of being backwards and slow but when you examine it, they really are trendsetters, at least in areas of things for the house.

For instance, when I was young most houses had three bed rooms max, so what did people in the south do? They closed in the garage making a fourth bed room. And if that wasn’t enough they would take and close in the back patio, creating another room, which could be a bed room. Now, most houses in this area are at lest four bed rooms.

And I can remember seeing old claw foot bath tubs out in the yard where the home owner would fill it with water so that the sun could heat the water. What do you know, that was the first hot tub! Now people everywhere have hot tubs.

It was also common to see people with sinks, stoves, big grills, deep fryers and so on in their back yards. Now people call them outdoor kitchens. People called them redneck, little did they know that they were ahead of their time!

When I was growing up you could drive out in the country and see people with sofas, tables and chairs on their porch and patios. Well what do you know, those were outdoor living areas, which are one of the hottest trends now. Coincidence? I think not! Matter of fact, I heard a guy from England say how impressed he was with people in the south because they had so much money that they could buy furniture that they didn’t have room for in their house.

I am not here to try to bust any stereotypes here, I just saying … :)


Don’t get dead

I dunno, maybe it’s me

The Ft. Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is going on right now. Which is ok I guess, but I just don't get what the big deal is. Some people are getting WAY too excited about it. I am sure there are all kinds of things to do, I know they have a rodeo and a livestock show, probably tons of junk you can buy, various shows I would guess, but one thing I heard about sparked my attention. They are having a Celebrity Goat Milking Contest followed by Goat Creative Costume Contest… I shit you not. You can milk a goat? How? Why? Where??!! And just what "Celebrities" are doing this? And then you have a goat costume contest, what kind of sick fucks are dressing up goats? GOATS?! How do you even organize that? I would love to over hear one of those conversations. "Say Bob, you ever think about dressing that goat up like a clown and seeing if people like it better than my goat dressed up as a fireman?" And where would you get a costume for a goat? Goats R Us?

And just what is a livestock show? Are their prizes for the biggest cow or something? Prettiest pig? I don't know, it could be my background but hell I am from Alabama, you would think I would be more "into" this sort of thing but I just don't get it.

I have been to car shows, I get that.

There are parades and this event, which last for over three weeks, draws huge crowds. How much cow and cow related crap can you have to stretch this out for three weeks?

But the thing that I find the most interesting is the rodeo that people make such a big deal about. I have never been to many rodeos so it is possible that I am missing the luster that makes this event so appealing to the masses. I do remember going to one once, as a child with my dad's parents. But then again, I did find out later that it was a prison rodeo which may have had an effect on my attraction to rodeos. Who the fuck takes their grandchild to a place infested with criminals as entertainment? But my childhood and family background is something for a therapist. Anyway, back to the rodeo. Some of it I could see how it could be interesting. Calf roping, that could be interesting. You would have to have some level of skill so I can see that I guess. I know there are some sort of horse races, okay I could maybe see that. But the thing I don't get is bull riding. Don't get me wrong, I get that it's a half ton pissed off animal, I got that part. What I don't get is why. Or even more so than that is how. Well not how so much but I guess what the big deal is. You win by hanging on. From what I hear that's it, just hanging on. You stay on for 8 seconds and you win or something. So why 8 seconds? Why not 10 minutes? That would be awesome to see.

And something else that I find interesting is what you win, a belt buckle that looks like one of those disposable roasting pans that you bake a turkey in. Pardon my French but fuck you! I risk being crippled or turned into human Swiss cheese and you give me a clothing accessory? Are rodeo people retarded or do they have A.D.D. or something and love shiny metal objects? I hope that I am wrong on all of this and there is some big cash prize or something because if they are doing all of this for a belt buckle alone they should not be allowed to freely roam in society. You know what, now that I think about it, maybe I will go watch the rodeo if it is just for a belt buckle.

This just struck me a funny

I get an e-mail from one of my buddies that he is getting a tee time for the weekend and wants to know who all is in. Do you really have to ask? I mean come on, it's golf, hell yeah I am in. So we decide to play this muni, which I have only been to once or maybe twice, just for a change. I am not a bug fan of munis because anyone with enough cash to cover the green fees can play and that is typically the way it is, but who cares. I was out with my boys and we were having a good time.

Just about the time we were hitting our approach shots on the 9th we realized that we need to stop at the turn and replenish our refreshments so to speak.

Normal situation while in the club house, get beer, hit the head, buy cigars and whatnot.

Out we walk from the back of the clubhouse and what do I see? This ….















Dude! Someone vandalized your cart! What? You mean you wanted to paint it like that? Ooook.

I got nothing against NASCAR but I never thought that NASCAR and golf would ever mix. With NASCAR everyone is yelling and raising hell, with golf everyone is quiet and patient. With NASCAR you do the same thing over and over again but with golf every hole is different. With NASCAR the fans are drunk, with golf the players are drunk, well sometimes :). With NASCAR everyone tailgates prior to the race, with golf everyone hangs out after the round.

I would have never thought that these two sports would ever find a way to cross paths, but then I got to thinking about it. And these two have a big common interest, advertising. The cars in NASCAR are covered with stickers of sponsors the same is true with golfers. Well, not exactly, with golf the advertisers are a little more subtle, oh and they're not stickers. But they have advertisements all over then, hell I think John Daily would wear a Tampax logo if they paid him. So I guess I can see the common thread but it was still a bit surprising to see the Jeff Gordon-mobile E-Z-GO at the bag drop. But the funny thing about all of this is how proud this guy was of it. When I asked him if I could get a picture of it (no idea why I asked, what was he going to do to stop me) he said "Yeah, and can you send me a copy of it because next week I am painting like Dale Earnhardt's car as a tribute to the Intimidator"… I shit you not.

I ... I … I just don't know what to say.